GREENSBORO, N.C. – After clinching the No. 10 seed with a commanding 68-50 victory over Wofford in its regular season finale, the UNCG women's basketball team opens play at the 2013 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Championship with a matchup against seventh-seeded Furman Friday at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, N.C. Tipoff is slated for 1:45 p.m. The Spartans and Paladins will play in the first round of the tourney for the second-straight year.

In the win over the Terriers Monday, junior guard Breonna Patterson (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley) netted a season second-best 20 points to pace UNCG offensively while sophomore guard Jarae Savage (Marietta, Ga./North Cobb) added 13 on 6-for-9 shooting from the field. Harmon led the team in rebounding with nine boards (five offensive) to complement a seven-rebound performance by junior forward Janae' Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Eau Claire). Patterson was very active in all facets of the game as she also tallied two assists and three steals.

Wofford out-shot UNCG by hitting 45 percent (23-for-51) of its attempts from the field as compared to the Spartans' 41 percent (25-for-61), but UNCG out-rebounded the Terriers 41-32, including 15 offensive boards, and forced Wofford into 23 turnovers which the Blue and Gold turned into 23 points. The Spartans also received 21 points from their bench.

• UNCG holds a 15-14 record in Southern Conference tournament play. The Spartans have not won a game in the event since knocking out Western Carolina by a 57-55 score in 2010 at Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. UNCG has faced Furman four times in tourney play with the Paladins winning three of the encounters.

• Friday's contest marks the 38th between UNCG and Furman with the Spartans holding a 21-16 advantage in the series. The Paladins won the first meeting between the teams this season 67-48 at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. before the Blue and Gold responded with a 60-59 triumph at Fleming Gymnasium Feb. 18.

• In the last meeting, freshman guard Ebona Goins (Greensboro, N.C./Dudley), who scored the winning free throw, led three Spartans in double figures offensively with 12 points. Stevenson and freshman guard Lucy Mason chipped in with 10 points apiece. Stevenson also paced the Blue and Gold with six rebounds (three offensive) while also increasing her career blocks total to 102 with two rejections. In an evenly-played contest, Furman out-shot UNCG (.489-.407), but the Spartans knocked down one more shot (24-23) and took 12 more attempts from the field overall (59-47). UNCG was also able to force the Paladins into 20 turnovers, scoring 14 points off those miscues, while converting the visitors' mistakes into 14 points and six steals. Furman won the rebounding battle overall, 32-30, but the Spartans finished with a 14-6 advantage on the offensive glass – leading to 11 second chance points.

• Furman has lost two-straight games entering the tournament with setbacks against Wofford and College of Charleston. Teshia Griswold paces the Paladin offensive attack averaging 12.8 points per game while Brittany Hodges is the team's top rebounder at 6.4 boards a contest. Furman shoots the ball at 36.7 percent from the field, 28 percent from beyond the arc and 71.7 percent at the foul line. The Paladins also average right at 38 rebounds per outing.